It's now Bung Karno Sports Complex
It's now Bung Karno Sports Complex
JAKARTA (JP): President Abdurrahman Wahid gave the green light
on Sunday to rename the Senayan Sports Complex as Bung Karno
Sports Complex in order to honor the country's first president
Sukarno.
"I accept the suggestion to change the name of the Senayan
Sports Complex to Bung Karno Sports Complex," Abdurrahman said in
front of tens of thousands of cheering supporters of the
Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) during
the party's 28th anniversary at the Senayan stadium.
"I did not approve the change because PDI Perjuangan
supporters asked for it but because Sukarno was the one who built
the complex."
Sukarno -- father of Indonesian Vice President Megawati
Soekarnoputri, who is also chairman of PDI Perjuangan -- started
the construction of the complex in 1958 in preparation to host
the 1962 Asian Games.
The complex, which was later on known as Senayan Sports
Complex during the New Order regime, has often hosted the
National Games and the Southeast Asian Games.
Abdurrahman said he would order the State Secretariat, which
supervised the complex's maintenance, and Jakarta's Governor
Sutiyoso to preserve the name Bung Karno Sports Complex soon.
Sukarno also issued a presidential decree No. 318 dated Sept.
24, 1962, which formalized the set up of the Bung Karno Sports
Complex Foundation under the direct supervision of the president.
A later presidential decree No. 4/1984 appointed the Gelora
Senayan Management Board (BPGS) -- under the State Secretariat --
as the manager of the complex and mandated to arrange all
business cooperation with those who leased land within the
complex.
The complex is located on 275 hectares of land in Central
Jakarta. Some of the land was also used for the state-owned TVRI
building, the Parliament building and the Ministry of Forestry.
Other parts of the land are used for private hotels, shopping
malls and business centers.
With the implementation of regional autonomy it is still
unclear whether the complex will be under the authority of
Jakarta's administration or the State Secretariat. (dja)